Category Archives: Publishing

Book Publishing is Murder!

Click on the book to buy.

Taylor Browning is the mystery editor at Endicott Publishing when the CEO is found dead in his locked office. Everyone is under suspicion, secrets are revealed and Taylor does a little snooping. Things go from bad to worse. If you’ve ever wondered what goes on at a publishing house, this is the inside scoop. One thing is certain; Taylor can’t edit her way out of real murder.

Copyright Infringement is Against the Law Worldwide!

I can’t believe I’m having to do this. Take time away from writing to attend to someone who is stealing content from my blogs (Reluctant Medium at Large and Parallel Universe at Large) and posting them in another country. Copyright Infringement is against the law worldwide. Please respect all the time and hard work that goes into anyone’s blog and DO NOT STEAL!

“The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a United Statescopyrightlaw that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures (commonly known as digital rights management or DRM) that control access to copyrighted works. It also criminalizes the act of circumventing an access control, whether or not there is actual infringement of copyright itself. In addition, the DMCA heightens the penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet.” Wikipedia.org

A Crime Fiction Tour of the Nation

Reported by G G Collins

Coming Soon

Welcome to a country of mystery, mayhem and murder. Thirty-one mystery writers from all over the US joined forces to wreak havoc. It’s a virtual mystery candy store with everything from Cozy to Procedural to Paranormal. North, south, east or west; we’ve got you covered. No region was spared from the grip of terror.

And the really big news? It will be FREE! Free to try new, known and emerging authors. Edited by Kristen Elise, PhD.

Call for Excerpts: Murder, USA and Murder, International

Hello, Murder Lab Community! This is a special invitation/call to action for authors.

I’m putting together an anthology of sorts. In contrast to a true anthology, which implies a collection of short stories, this is actually going to be a collection of excerpts from published, full-length novels–sort of like a compilation of Amazon “Look Inside” features from similarly-themed novels, all in one nifty little, e-mailable, downloadable, linkable, social media promotable package. . .

Atomic Medium

Third Book in the Rachel Blackstone Paranormal Mystery Series

Atomic Medium Available at Amazon

A time warp has opened in a popular Santa Fe retail store. The building housing the shop was the main office of The Manhattan Project during its development in the 1940s. Only one person has witnessed the departure of two dangerous men through the doorway to the past—reporter Rachel Blackstone. Although she is certain they are evil she has no idea how they left 2015 or where they landed on the other side, only that she saw them do it. But the office on the other side is certainly a very different place than the showroom with the neatly arranged inventory of gifts and Native American art. When she discovers the mystery of the room, it becomes apparent at least one man is an alien force wearing a Nazi uniform—and intent on changing the balance of nuclear weapons in the world. Rachel and friend Chloe time travel to a world of subterfuge, secrets and danger. If they can’t stop the two men intent on sabotage, history will be changed. For Rachel and Chloe, it’s no small task: just save the world.

Ask David Tweeted Me a Great Free Book Weekend!

With a free book weekend scheduled over the weekend at Amazon and a family emergency taking precedent, I took a chance and Tweeted via AskDavid.com. That’s the only promotion effort I made.

AskDavid.com has nearly 20,000 followers and they really paid attention. It was a very successful weekend. “Reluctant Medium” landed on the 28th spot Mystery/Women Sleuths and 31st on Fantasy/Paranormal Urban.

If you’re a reader looking for new authors and their books, AskDavid.com is the place to find them.

For authors, check out AskDavid.com. I’m buying a very reasonable promo package and looking forward to more success. AskDavid.com just might be an author’s best friend.

Working to Finish “Lemurian Medium”

Time to Get to WorkCopyright G G Collins

I’m going to take time to finish my next book in the Reluctant Medium series. I’ve set a deadline for completion. If something quick comes to mind, I’ll stop in and make a post. And of course, there’s always spam to clean off. Please bear with me as I knuckle down and get this book completed.

Writing the Reluctant Medium at Large blog is a delight and I will be back–I hope to announce the second book is done!

I’ll probably be making one more post to Parallel Universe at Large. That would give me 10 posts on the new blog. Much more to come on that front too. Thanks for your patience and as always for stopping by and saying “hello.”

Collins Discusses Art & Writing

I’m delighted to take part in Destiny Allison’s “Women Artists and Writers.” Allison is running a series of interviews on her blog, “Shaping Destiny: A Quest for Meaning in Art and Life.”

Shaping Destinyby Destiny Allison

Allison is an accomplished artist and writer. Because her questions are thoughtful, this was my first introspective interview since publishing my book. I appreciate being included in this look at women, art and writing, how we perceive our work and the world we work within.

Indie Publishers Go Their Own Way

by G G Collins

What happened to the easy life as a writer? Despite my time at a traditional book publisher, I was unprepared for marketing and promoting my eBook Reluctant Medium. An eBook is a whole different animal.

A bricks and mortar book publisher will mail a handful of advance galleys to review media in the States such as Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, The New York Times and your local newspaper—if it still has a book page. And they may set up a couple local morning TV shows. After that, you’re usually on your own unless you’re one of the few chosen for an all-out book tour, something that becomes less and less common every year.

But surprise, most of these conventional review media won’t accept eBooks for review at all, but a couple will do it for a fee. With Kirkus, it’s a pricey fee!

Start here. That places the eBook author firmly at the starting line. Fortunately, the eBook world is quickly forming its own network of book review blogs, blog tours and book communities stepping in to give the fledgling eBook author a leg up.

Here are some book communities that will help you learn about marketing, promotions and getting reviews: Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com, Shelfari (Book must be book available at Amazon.) at http://www.shelfari.com and Writers’ Café at http://www.kindleboards.com (If you published in Kindle format.) Amazon also has forums. Post only in the “Meet the Author” forums as the others are for readers. Don’t forget the forums in other countries where your book is selling. Again, look for the “Meet the Author” forums, then post on threads featuring books in the same language as your book.

Whichever book and author websites you decide to join, be certain to take advantage of their author pages as well as the book page. Complete both and link them. Yes, you’re going to be busy for awhile, but it’s worth the time to get your book out there.

Whatever websites you use, haunt the forums looking for information you need to get your books in front of your audience. If you write thrillers, mysteries, romances, nonfiction self-help or spirituality, you’ll find a reading group.

Available at Smashwords

Bloggers to the rescue:Look for forums with members willing to do reviews and interviews. Bloggers are also members. Let them know which retailers carry your book: Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. The reviewer can then place the review in those outlets.

Are you social? If you’re a member of Google+1, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter, publicize your book under the guidelines of these social networks. Some have accounts that cater to authors or you might even set up an account in your character’s name. Just make certain you’re doing it according to their terms and conditions.

Seeing the world. Smashwords offers a premium catalog listing for those eBooks that qualify. This gets your book in places like Barnes & Noble, Baker & Taylor, Sony, Apple, Kobo and Library Direct. Being accepted in the premium catalog is important. Smashwords distribution reaches more countries than Amazon. It appears to be the road to world-wide distribution and it continues to extend its reach.

eReaders (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Acceptance depends on the way your manuscript is formatted. I took advantage of Smashwords list of formatters. (They also have a list of book cover artists.) First, I edited it again myself, then spent $50 to hire the formatter.

I chose Shelley Glasow Schadowsky at http://www.goodlifeguide.com. The first time I uploaded the book, it failed to obtain acceptance, but Ms. Schadowsky made the necessary fixes and it’s now in the premium catalog.

It’s a blog. The other thing an author must do is build a blog. Two free places to get your start are Google’s Blogger and WordPress. I’ve read good things about both, so it’s just a matter of what you prefer. I chose WordPress and have been happy with it. There are many themes to choose from. You can find one that will match your personality or reflects the mood of your book.

Now, blogging is not all about promoting your book. In fact, writing posts that are related to your book, but not featuring your book, is the direction you want. For instance, I started my blog writing about the places where the “treasure hunt” in the storyline took place. And because I write about a medium, I added ghost stories about my locale. Since then, I’ve covered locations used in my book, talked about my characters, and enhanced the metaphysical aspects of the story.

Be sure to protect your writing with copyright notices. WordPress has one you can use on your blog. I use a copyright notice on all my photos as well.

Image via CrunchBase

For more in-depth help, here are two eBooks by Mark Coker, author and founder of Smashwords: Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success and Smashwords Book Marketing Guide. I’ve found these quite helpful. They are available at Smashwords, Amazon and other formats.

Go indie! When we choose the indie path, it’s indie all the way. Marketing and promoting an eBook feels like a monumental task at first, but just approach it like you did writing the book; one chapter at a time. The indie publisher writes, edits and formats the manuscript. Think of that as chapter one. This is followed by marketing and promotions, or chapter two. The final chapter is reaping the profits as your book and blog following grows.

From here we have to put on our writing hat and go to work on the next book. This can be a bit disorienting, but just plunge in. You’ve been making notes and doing research while marketing your book, so you’re ready; string those words.

This is rudimentary marketing and promotions for an eBook. Indies are learning these skills together as the market for eBooks continues to grow. I believe we are the face of new publishing, green publishing, with the potential to bring reading to people who haven’t been exposed to books in their lifetime.

With conventional publishers fading away, and eBooks exploding on the scene, we are pioneers—not in covered wagons, but pioneers exploring the technological frontier.

The content, photos and text on this site is copyrighted. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use or duplication of content from this website is strictly prohibited under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Short excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to G G Collins and Reluctant Medium at Large with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Photos cannot be used without permission and without paying photographer's fee. Thank you for respecting this policy. Please see Copyright/Content/Privacy Policy Page for directions.

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